Pros and Cons of City of Falls Church

[Anonymous]

Similar to what others have said I really liked what I learned about FCC when we were looking at moving to VA. Seems like a nice liberal area with friendly neighbors, cute houses, good public schools, good location. On the other hand the area feels very congested and highly dense. Housing choices are limited and expensive. The taxes are the highest I have seen in the area and for most folks I think way too high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros: Commute, Schools, neighbors, central location to amenities.

Cons: Expensive small houses, high taxes, schools aren't as good as comparably priced McLean, N. Arlington or Vienna, ugly main street, high traffic.

I would certainly disagree with your statement about the schools. It is a wonderful, intimate district. Also, when you talk about the main street, you do understand the difference between FCC and Fairfax Falls Church, correct? The main part of Broad has some beautiful older homes and some nice, new mixed use buildings with more on the way.

Not sure about the "good" part, but you definitely have more choice in the larger Fairfax and Arlington school systems (AP, IB, language immersion, Academy programs).

[Anonymous]

I'd personally rather live in the falls church part of fairfax county (the part that goes to McLean Schools) rather than FCC. You are basically just a few streets over, but pay lower property taxes and have better schools and county services.

[Anonymous]

But do you support the girls?

[Anonymous]

Pros: Walkable if you are on north side of Rt. 7, small town feel.

Cons: The traffic on Rt. 7 can be ridiculous. It's very homogenous (but maybe that's a pro for you.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pros: Walkable if you are on north side of Rt. 7, small town feel.

Cons: The traffic on Rt. 7 can be ridiculous. It's very homogenous (but maybe that's a pro for you.)

The south side of Rt. 7 is also walkable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But do you support the girls?

What are those signs about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But do you support the girls?

What are those signs about?

A few years ago, a prominent city resident molested several girls and is now serving time. The families of the girls felt a lack of support. The movement was to show support but was co-opted by some dirty politicians to try to bolster their message, so the signs are as much to divide people over politics as showing support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd personally rather live in the falls church part of fairfax county (the part that goes to McLean Schools) rather than FCC. You are basically just a few streets over, but pay lower property taxes and have better schools and county services.

This is true, however, if you end up living in FCC you never have to worry about redistricting. You hear about redistricting (and some very upset homeowners) when the streets and areas are re-zoned.

[Anonymous]

^thank you! I live on the border of FC and see those signs all the time and never knew what they were for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pro: Good schools, small town feel yet walkable, well situated so easy to get everywhere

Con: You pay a lot for what you get. Small town politics. Since it's a small school district, don't expect as many options if your kids fall outside the norm. If your kids do sports in school - expect to travel longer distances than if you were in Arlington or Fairfax.

My 2 cents: I like FCC, but cast a wider net to see if there area others you'll like just as well.

This is absolutely not true. My kid has a lot of special needs and the FCC public school has been unbelievably good with him. I actually think it's the opposite. Don't expect many options if your kids are typical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd personally rather live in the falls church part of fairfax county (the part that goes to McLean Schools) rather than FCC. You are basically just a few streets over, but pay lower property taxes and have better schools and county services.

This is true, however, if you end up living in FCC you never have to worry about redistricting. You hear about redistricting (and some very upset homeowners) when the streets and areas are re-zoned.

School capacity is a big problem. One of the FCC schools is in FC and FC is not letting them expand the school as much as FCC wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd personally rather live in the falls church part of fairfax county (the part that goes to McLean Schools) rather than FCC. You are basically just a few streets over, but pay lower property taxes and have better schools and county services.

This is true, however, if you end up living in FCC you never have to worry about redistricting. You hear about redistricting (and some very upset homeowners) when the streets and areas are re-zoned.

School capacity is a big problem. One of the FCC schools is in FC and FC is not letting them expand the school as much as FCC wanted.

3 of the FCC schools are in Fairfax County. And the dirty FCC politicians worked with county residents to stall the Mount Daniel expansion. That's my biggest gripe about FCC. It is very much a house divided due to a very vocal minority who cause trouble in the name of progress. It's probably the same in other areas but in other areas you aren't as likely to run into them at the supermarket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd personally rather live in the falls church part of fairfax county (the part that goes to McLean Schools) rather than FCC. You are basically just a few streets over, but pay lower property taxes and have better schools and county services.

This is true, however, if you end up living in FCC you never have to worry about redistricting. You hear about redistricting (and some very upset homeowners) when the streets and areas are re-zoned.

School capacity is a big problem. One of the FCC schools is in FC and FC is not letting them expand the school as much as FCC wanted.

3 of the FCC schools are in Fairfax County. And the dirty FCC politicians worked with county residents to stall the Mount Daniel expansion. That's my biggest gripe about FCC. It is very much a house divided due to a very vocal minority who cause trouble in the name of progress. It's probably the same in other areas but in other areas you aren't as likely to run into them at the supermarket.

No, Mt. Daniel is the only FCC school in FC. FC swapped the land where Mason and Henderson are located with FCC as part of the deal where FCC sold its water utility, which had been gouging customers in FC.

[Anonymous]

Just a clarification that FCC is Falls Church City proper, and only has one set of schools that feed into George Mason High School.

Falls Church in Fairfax County has several high schools--Falls Church, McLean, etc. all run by Fairfax County.

the zip code 22046 is generally FCC. The zip codes 22046 and 22043 can be outside the city though.

Generally the parts of Falls Church outside the city (in Fairfax County) that are 22043 and 20046 are more expensive/sought after than 22044, 22042, etc. The further north of Rt. 7 = the more expensive. Also those are more likely to feed into McLean HS.

Sleepy Hollow may be a bit of an exception--larger lots, but not really walking distance to metro or FCC.